He's 2,190 days old!

72 Months

Can it be?  Our little 50 lb bundle of joy is 6 years old already!  Most days I feel like he's still so young - still young enough to give his age in months.  Somehow hearing myself answer a stranger's question with "oh, he's 72 months old now" just doesn't seem to sound as cute as it had in my mind.  

Being wheeled to the OR for a C-section was not exactly how I had pictured that beautiful day in September 2008, but Joey had to be evicted by force.  He was content.  He was not coming out willingly.  In fact, had he not been "helped" out that day, I feel certain that I would now be 81 months pregnant!  

And on that day, this is the cute squishy face we fell in love with...

He came out making noise and hasn't stopped yet!

With no questions asked or quizzes given, they just 

let us take this tiny bundle home with us.  

And this is our little miracle today who we are still head over heels in love with...

A the ripe old age of 6, Joey enjoys...
SAMUEL
Joey has welcomed Samuel from day 1.  He loves being a big brother!  In fact, he is patient most days and great at distracting Samuel when he gets upset.  

DESSERT 
Not a day goes by that Joey forgets to ask about dessert or talk about dessert or come up with ideas for dessert or suggest a place to purchase dessert.

HELPING
He is excellent to put away his clean clothes and help with baking.  In fact, I walked into our room after a difficult morning.  And what did I find?  That little Joey had put away my clothes neatly in the drawers.  

DANCING
This kid will dance anywhere and everywhere.  He's got the moves!

LEGOS

We have Lego creations on display in just about every room in the house!  He's pretty darn creative too!  

STAR WARS

Lego Star Wars on the Xbox is a daily ritual around here!  And he's so certain that it's fun for everyone that he has taken a tremendous amount of time to teach me to play too.  

Happiest of Birthdays to our special 6 year old.  How are we so blessed?  God is just too good to us.  Our Joey came into our lives as a pleasant surprise and has  been teaching, entertaining, and bringing joy ever since!  

Communication 101

"Mon!"
It's Samuel's way of saying "come on".

"Top dat!"
Samuel's way of saying...well, you can figure out that one.

"That?"
It's Samuel's way of asking "what's that?"

And to answer that question...

That is a little boy serious about playing "Tar Wa" (Star Wars)

That is the same little boy full of pride in his Spiderman sticker placement.

And that is a little determined guy who demanded to 

carry the backpack he himself could easily fit inside.

Eight months home and feeling the transition is going well.  Better than well, actually. We've watched and waited for his grieving process, fearing we had missed it.  We have been careful to show him our unconditional love in the midst of teaching opportunities. Yet here we are 8 months home and happily strolling through life as a family of 4.  We are GRATEFUL!  Moments like these help me to realize that God's grace has been more than enough.  I still sit here in utter disbelieve when I look back on our time together.  That's not to say that Samuel won't face heart-breaking questions and emotional battles in the future as he grasps his history and losses.  But, for now we're enjoying this time together and watching him blossom into a curious, active, determined little munchkin. 

Being a determined (read strong-willed) 2 year old boy in our house provides many opportunities for teaching.  Surely God will use Samuel's determination in a great way.  He knows there's more than enough determination readily available and easily accessible   He's quite a character whether lip syncing in the backseat, demanding to play "Tar Wa", or cuddled up on the couch reading book after book after book.  Samuel adds a little something special to our family!


Our Spider Monkey

Who remembers doing this as a child?  

Our Spider monkey

Allegedly training for American Ninja Warrior

Joey claims he's training for American Ninja Warrior.  Truly, I think he would literally climb the walls even if he had never seen that show.  Both of our boys are part monkey.  Mostly monkey, if you ask me.  This is probably only the beginning!  

 Entertainer Mode: Putting on a dance show

And our big boy begs to go to bed.  When asked about kindergarten, 

he is not shy to admit that he misses nap time.  And so, he's usually fast 

asleep before we even walk out of his room.

And so the adventures of the Webb boys continue...

All Things Kindergarten

Awesome Good
From what we understand, Kindergarten is still very much "AWESOME GOOD"!

For anyone who remembers the excitement of buying a lunch in the cafeteria, you'll appreciate this memorable story.  Sweet little Joey was thrilled with this opportunity.  You would think he was getting to pick out a cool new toy based on his enthusiasm.  I will mention that he was a little bummed that he didn't have enough money to buy chips and a cookie.  Sorry, son, your mom is a dietitian!  Of all the food choices for the week, he bypassed the pizza and hamburgers to go straight for...chicken egg rolls.  Chicken egg rolls?  Seriously?  No pizza?  Obviously I have some work to do.  Ha!  I found it very amusing that he was quick to tell me that he had chosen white milk instead of chocolate because "I knew you wouldn't be comfortable with me getting chocolate."  For a kid who loves chocolate speaking to a mom who also loves chocolate, this was both funny and a little rewarding...mostly funny though.  We have chocolate milk from time to time, but I'm thankful that he understands it would likely cause him to bounce off the wall for the remainder of school.  Good choice, Joey!  He also reported that his friend eats his dessert first.  What?  No way!  A kid who eats the sweet first?  Joey was so proud to announce that he always saves his cookie for last even if that means he doesn't have a chance to eat it until after school.  Oh my stars!  I was shocked!  I guess being a dietitian's child can go either way.  Sadly, I think I would be the typical child drinking my chocolate milk while eating my cookie well before I even recognized that I had a sandwich available!  We'll see if this "food police" attitude continues for the next few weeks.  

He climbed into the car yesterday excited about a bracelet he made at school.  Joey was able to name all the colored animals each bead represented.  And then, he kindly explained that he asked his teacher if he could make it for his mommy.  Although he was told "no", he went on to tell me "you can still keep it." With a secretive grin on his face, "I'll let you keep it forever, Mommy."  What a sweet kiddo.  And it makes me melt into a puddle just knowing my big boy still thinks about me when he's at school.  Between this beaded bracelet and sharks tooth necklace from zoo camp, Joey enjoys accessorizing me.  He takes good care of me!  

And then on those rough, almost-late kind of mornings, he jumps out of the car and strolls down the sidewalk turning back to offer an innocent "I love you" (via sign language), a thumbs up, followed by a blown kiss and a giant imaginary hug.  This kindergartener knows how to glaze over any difficult morning with his gentle spirit.

School lunch time with Joey

Hours of Fun
While Joey is off to school filling his brain, Samuel and I have many hours to entertain ourselves.  And we're doing a pretty good job at it.  Some of Samuel's favorite day time activities...

This kid could color all day long, especially if he gets to use markers!

Trying out the new scooter

Playing in Brother's bedroom...forbidden space.

Leisure lunch and story time with Mommy

Someone has to have all the fun during the day.  Samuel is happy to oblige!